I am actually in Penang at the moment but this is based in christchurch and the journey from there if i get that far.

June 5th

Got up and went to catch the bus to Akaroa to see the dolphins. we did a couple of photo stops along the way and a coffee stop. after arriving at Akaroa we were REALLY angry as the dolphin swimming was on and we didnt have any gear with us so we couldnt do it. so instead we went to watch. when we got on the boat we were fumming, i mean really ready to hit someone. once we got out into the middle of the ocean we were a bit happier cos thpse that were swimming were frozen, couldn't see a thing and everytime a dolphin came anywhere near them they couldn't see. whereas we had an awesome view from on top of the boat! got back to dry land and had some yummy fish and chips for lunch before going for a wander around and a look at the shops before catching the bus home. on the way bacj we stopped at a cheese factory which was a bit naff and then headed on to christchurch. came back, had tea and chilled out.

June 6th

Got up and went on the internet, checked stuff over, sent stuff home and went back to the hostel for lunch before heading to the cinema to see SEX AND THE CITY! we were so excited as it had only jst come out on this side of the world. saw that and have now renewed my hope of finding true love and a perfect happy ending (as well as a load of new shoes!) then we did our washing and got packed up and went down for a drink and soime tea. laura didnt feel very well and we were both so excited about leaving that we went to bed!

june 7th

got woken up by dad ringing me from the pub! then got packed, changed and checked out before going on the net and posting more stuff off and then went to get some breakfast. we caught the bus to the airport and actually had to pay to leave the country - I would have been quite happy to stay! got on the plane after catching up with sandra and barbra (who were on the magic bus with us for a bit and are also going to all the places we are going to until we get to thailand after that i doubt we'll see them again) and flew to sydney - 4hours later we had to go through a screening thing again and i got pulled to one side and had a bomb test preformed on me - very strange! then we flew to singapore - almost 7.30 hours. watched a bunch of films (other bolyn girl, golden compass and some of st trinians) and arrived in singaopore. now after we got our bags we hit trouble - our first warning sign should have been the fact that the taxi driver we were designated out the front could not speak a word of english. the second was that he had no idea where it was we wanted to go - we said PERAK ROAD and he said ORCHARD ROAD?? quite what the similarities were i will never know buit never mind. after about an hour of driving around little india in search of our hotel we found it (i forgot to mention that he stopped the taxi 3 times, got out once to ask for directions and still charged us a hell of a lot more cos he kept the meter running even when he stopped to check directions. THEN he charged us an extra 5 bucks cos it was after midnight - you should have seem the steam coming out of laura and my ears! we were ready to just leave without paying but for the small matter that he had our bags! we then got to our room, fell on the bed screaming into our pillows and then had a shower (a days travelling is not pleasant) then went to bed. I would also like to add that i have a stinking cold and i am not a happy bunny

June 8th

had breakfast and went for a walk to orchard road which is a massive big shopping area with a million and one shopping malls on it. saw M and S which was exciting and topshop which was funny!went out to china town and made our way towards raffels and had lunch (not at raffles - too expensive). we then headed to the DHL balloon but it was cancelled as there was apparently a thunder storm on the way (by the way... we are still waiting for that thunder storm!) then headed back to the hotel. met the group that we had for our tour and chatted about what we were going to be doing and then we all went out for tea to a place in little india. we then went to a bar for a drink and then headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our travel the next day!

9th june

up at 6.30 am and went down to the bus station for 7.30. bus was late (why is that no matter what country you are in the buses always seem to be late?) when we got on we were very pleasantly suprised as we had massive chairs, foot rests, reclining seats that didnt squash the person in front! then we hit the border and had to go through security that took about an hour to go through then we traveled on to the malaysian border before getting off and doing it all again. we then got on and headed through to melaka after a stop at toilet (a hole in the floor) and then arrived at our hotel in melaka. we drove past tesco which was very exciting and then checked in. the hotel was really posh. had lunch in the hotel and then went into town. Becky our tour leader showed us around the town centre and showed us where things were. we went to the museum of eternal beauty which was actually ferral! it was making you want to throw up showing you all the things that people did to themselves throughout the ages to make themselves appear more beautiful. then we went to try and get money out for laura but her card was firmly rejected from a bunch of banks. we later discovered that barclays in there wisdom has canceled her card as they thought some one was doing something dodgy! so after going in a huff with the bacnk we headed into china town for a look around and bumped into the boys (matt, matt, chris, nathan) and went for a drink with them in one of the side bars and then headed back to the hotel with them intome for our group meeting. we then got on a tri shaw around the central city which was a guy on a bike and we sat and got puched around! we had a cool sound system as well blaring out music! we had a tour and a guide kept stopping at interesting places and telling us about the history of the area. we then went to a chinese temple and then headed to a restaurant to have rice balls. was nice but i decided to cough the whole way through as felt like poo. then we walked back to the hotel for a drink and then bed!

im off will update again soon xxx